R720xd internal Sata

Hello,
I understand your situation, but at first I have to say that it is a method that is not officially supported and unfortunately I do not have much knowledge. Normally these PERC cards come in IR mode and are designed accordingly. I haven't come across a controller used in initatior target mode before. However, I did some research and I will advise you to check the following about the flashers that I think will be useful to you.
https://dell.to/3msGHxn
https://dell.to/2KoZ7Sx
https://dell.to/3afbV8R
https://dell.to/2IZpZby
It may be useful to check out the TrueNAS forum, especially if the community here does not have experience in this matter.

Often times, problems can arise on non-Dell approved parts because FW is not recognized. so even if there is a possibility that 3rd party parts are working, it's hard to see this without trying it. And some parts can cause other problems on the server. (Like No Post) The R720 had NVMe drivers validated for use with their respective models. Before ordering any drivers, I recommend reviewing your server queue for NVMe support. If you don't have the option to order, simply talk about a kit with sales. Apart from these, it helps if those who have experience with this issue in the community share their experiences. Maybe someone tried the parts you mentioned.
I hope this information helps!

Hello Erman,

Thank you for the response.  

As far as getting the H710 into IT mode, I have successfully done that.  The TRUENAS documentation and help pages have a step by step for getting the raid cards into it mode.  Its a pretty easy process.  So that part is done and I know Truenas's install can see the drives that are connected.  

So as far as NVMe support, you said to check the server q.  Is that something I can see via the bios at boot?

The easiest solution would be for me to just get those two SATA ports on the board to work.  Do you know how the hardware disables those two SATA ports on the MB on the R720xd vs the 8 bay version of the R720?  More importantly is there a way to turn them back on?  

Thank you for the help Erman!!

Matt

BTW the dell website is blocking my post cause of a "bad word".  The spelled out "q" from server q(but spelled out)

Hello Marco,

Oh this is great news.  I have been searching in the bios for the ability to change this.  I cant find it.  Where exactly is this this option in the bios hiding?  

Thanks again for the help Marco!!

Matt

Hello,

you can activate embedded SATA port in the BIOS of the server. By default, the Embedded SATA option is set to AHCI.

Please let us know if we can help you further.

Thanks

Marco

Hello,

I believe you should find what you are looking for using the F2 menu, then System BIOS Settings > SATA Settings.

Please let me know if this helps.

Hello Dylan,

This is great news.  However I cant seem to find the sata menu in the bios.  See the below images.  Is it possible I have to change the bios version?  

Thank you

Matt

Two of my images were deleted.  What that cause the service tag was listed?

Anyway they are reattached without that service tag.  

The server you have isn't a standard R720xd, it's an OEM revision, as indicated in your images. I believe you can find the option under either System Information or Integrated Devices. However, if you'd like to flash your system to the standard R720xd BIOS, that is a viable option in most cases.

Hello Dylan,

Ok, I cant find the Sata stuff in the bios.  I dont think its there.  The OEM bios may not have access to it.  So how do I change it back to the stock Dell bios?  I think that idea of yours sounds great.

Thank you

Matt

Hello Dylan,

I found online the bios for a standard r720xd.  I went through the lifecycle controller and upgraded the bios.  Upon reboot the OEM-R 720xd is still there.  So Im out of ideas on how to change this.  Are there any other tricks for getting this back to a non oem machine?  

Thanks

Matt

Hi,

OEM Identity Module is basically a repository file where branding or customization attributes are stored centrally and used by the BIOS, iDRAC, and other subsystems. It is stored in a protected partition on the motherboard. We may need to look at another system board to restore it. https://dell.to/3p3cQ0a
I was able to find some articles saying that 11G OEM servers can flash BIOS and do non-OEM servers. As far as I know, non-OEM flashing of the OEM presentation on 13G servers does not happen and motherboard replacement is required. I'm not sure if it can be done in 12G. Now, first of all, even when performing a normal BIOS update, the server may switch to No POST status against the setbacks you may encounter anytime. Please remember the responsibility first.

Could you first try this? Could you download the ".efi" file and try to update it via F11 as here https://dell.to/387ngoS.

If this does not work, you can try the flashing method described on the link here https://dell.to/3ahjn3h I would like to remind you again that these methods may not work and there is a risk that may come out during the process. In the problem, the server may become unable to POST.

I hope this works for you.

Hello Erman,

Ok, I downloaded the .EFI file and went through the procedure.  The bios was reflashed, but after the reboot the OEM-R was still there.  So definitely have deeper to go to scrape the OEM setting out of the machine.  The next link you sent talks about using a dos boot disk created from Rufus.  Im familiar with Rufus, but not sure where to get the .iso files from to create this disk.  Where can I find these files?  It was unclear from the article.  Seemed to be for the R710 machines and not the R720.  

Thank you

Matt

When using Rufus to flash firmware, I just set it to create the standard FreeDOS image that comes with Rufus. You can then drag the file to the USB after it's burned, boot to it, and run it.

The only other image I see mentioned in the link was the Support Live Image. I don't think that's what you're looking for, but I'll share the link in case I'm misunderstanding.

https://dell.to/3nv90Ng

Hello Dylan,

So when I follow the link here for the firmware scrapers how do I tell which generation of the hardware Im running?  10g, 11g, 12g, etc.   Is it on the MB, or is it visible in the bios somewhere?

Also Im then going to be looking for just the standard bios firmware that is going to hopefully be different then the other two that I have already installed?  If its the one I have the arrow pointing at, I swear that is the same file name I installed earlier with the lifecycle controller.  If it is the same file, is it the install technique that makes this more likely to wipe out the OEM-R configuration?  

Thank you

Matt

The firmware scrapers aren't a tool we use in support. I unfortunately know nothing about them.

I'd not expect any difference in success, though. If you wouldn't mind sending me your tag in a PM, I'd be happy to give it a look. Not all systems can be reflashed away from OEM firmware. It may be the case here. Getting a look at what the server identifies as may help illuminate part of the issue.